Down to Business
I was on a call with one of our sales interns last week and she said the following…
“I’m good with asking for the buyer and all that, I just don’t know what to say when I get them. Like, I want to hype them up and compliment them, but I don’t want to sound fake. And then I want to tell them about what we do but I don’t know what I should tell them. There’s just so much.”
I thought all of this was sales 101. And to most of us, people who have been doing it for a decade, it seems like it is. But the truth is, for most people, cold-calling and interviewing a prospect is intimidating. So I figured I’d share with you all what I shared with her.
Her comment immediately made me think of two things…
“No one ever complained about someone getting down to business too quickly. Ever.”
When in doubt, get right to it. Acknowledge that you know how busy they are and respect that. Jump right into CLASP (current, like, alter, signer, picture).
Just start asking questions about their current situation. What and how they’re buying, how much they’re paying, how’s the quality, lead-time, etc. Are they happy with their situation? Is there anything they would change?
They’re busy. So are you. True pros value time.
“Drop me at any sales company in the USA and I’ll make payroll by Friday.” — Tom Scully, Sandler Sales
The second piece was from my sales trainer back in the day. It’s easy to read this quote and think it a bit egotistical. But the truth is, he knows one of the industry’s dirty secrets. You don’t need to know ANYTHING about what you’re selling to be successful. You just need to be kind, curious, and persistent.
Don’t get me wrong, the more you know about your product or industry, the more likely you are to succeed. BUT just follow this line of thinking. Imagine being back at your first week on the job. You’re on a call with a potential client. You have no option other than to ask questions, because you don’t know anything anyway.
So you ask questions. You listen. You learn. Then you go talk to someone who knows and you get back to the prospect with a solution relevant to their specific problem.
Feel free to comment if you have any more ideas or feedback!
